Joe Hart has singled out teenage full-back Colby Donovan for special praise following Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League.
The former Hoops goalkeeper was on co-commentary duties for the European clash and was impressed by the way Brendan Rodgers’ side handled the hostile atmosphere at the Marakana. While Celtic were unable to claim all three points, Hart insisted there were plenty of positives – particularly Donovan’s display on his first European start.
“It’s been a good European performance without the noise of everything around Celtic,” Hart said live in TNT. “I think they’ll be pleased. From a team point of view, I can only comment that Brendan Rodgers will be really pleased. Not quite dominating but they’ve stood up in big moments. Defensively looked strong, Iheanacho coming in and giving them that line up front, scoring an excellent goal and looking threatening. Young Colby Donovan put on a really good show, he’s been brilliant. Those are the sort of things you want to focus on.”
Donovan, just 19, has been thrust into the first team amid injuries to Alistair Johnston and Anthony Ralston. Having already featured domestically, Rodgers trusted him to start in Serbia – and the youngster rose to the occasion with a composed and disciplined performance.
Ralston was back in the squad last night, being named on the bench, while Alistair Johnston is still some way away. However, the Canadian has revealed that he is further ahead in his recovery than was expected of him.
For Hart, who spent three years at Celtic before retiring last year, Donovan’s emergence is an encouraging sign at a time when the club has been rocked by criticism of its summer recruitment. He’s certainly battling with Ralston for his place, and on his current form, you can’t justify dropping him.
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